As a language services professional, you understand that interpretation and translation play a crucial role in hospital success, well worth the cost of having a quality program. Even better, state and federal reimbursement may help your organization defray that cost via programs like Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The National Health Law Program (NHELP) recently released an issue brief on this topic; here are some key takeaways:

To qualify for state or federal reimbursement, a hospital’s language services program must meet the quality standards set forth in relevant federal law:

Civil Rights Act of 1964:

Prohibited Medicaid and CHIP from engaging in national origin discrimination, requiring hospitals to provide limited-English proficient (LEP) patients with interpreters.

Section 1557 of the ACA:

Strengthened the language services requirements found in the Civil Rights Act for HHS-funded health programs and activities. Required qualified interpreters for all LEP patient interactions, posting of notices of nondiscrimination, and gave individuals the right to sue hospitals for disparate impact if an interpreter was not provided.

2. States that choose to reimburse providers for language services can submit a federal request for matching funds

Medicaid.gov explains that “States are not required to reimburse providers for the cost of language services…still, states do have the option to claim Medicaid reimbursement for the cost of interpretation services, either as medical-assistance related expenditures or as administration.”

The CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2009 also increased federal matching “available for translation and interpretation services provided to “children of families for whom English is not their primary language,” and family members of these children.”

States that expanded Medicaid under the ACA receive significantly higher federal reimbursement for language services “provided to expansion populations as a covered service” – 95% in 2017 and scheduling down to 90% in 2020 and beyond.

States that offer some level of provider reimbursement for language services: